Organizer of the Beit El Din Festival, Nour Janbalat, announced that Lebanese-Colombian pop/rock singer Shakira Mebarak will not be performing at the festival due to the current US-British war on Iraq. The concerts were expected to prove a huge success due to the fact that Shakira holds great popularity for mixing Arab traits and forms of dancing into her performances, which is one of the main reasons her popularity has spread so fast around the Arab world.

According to the London based daily, Al Sharq Al Awsat, Nour was previously able to successfully reach an agreement worth 450,000 US dollars to hold two concerts. Cutting the deal with Shakira was a great achievement for Nour, who had felt honored to bring the singer to her country and introduce her to her people.

Shakira had revealed that she still hopes to visit her home country Lebanon as soon as the war is over and the conditions in the region are stable and safe.

With regards to holding a tour around the Middle East, Shakira expressed after endless negotiations with sponsors that she does not feel the time is safe or right to hold concerts in the Arab world with the current conditions in the region, therefore she has halted all negotiations and agreements of previously scheduled concerts.

The singer was previously scheduled to hold concert in Tunisia this month and in Morocco in June. Shakira was to hold performances in Casablanca, Rabat, and possibly a third Moroccan city. Organizers for the big event were trying to complete all necessary procedures in secrecy not wanting to reveal any additional information until everything is finalized.

Shakira had previously announced on live TV that she will go on a Middle East tour and had signed a contract to hold three concerts in Egypt at the Light and Sound Theater. The singer had also sent a crew of sound specialists to study the taste of the Egyptian population so as to know what type of songs to perform.

Multicultural Shakira is one of a growing number of Latin American singers making a splash on the US pop charts. Her latest album, "Laundry Service," has sales approaching 10 million albums worldwide. Her music combines rock, pop, Latin and Arabic sounds. Shakira also plays guitar and writes most of her songs, which allows her to control its content and style, something she is very keen on. – Albawaba.com